In 1918, after the suffragette campaign, the fourth reform act was introduced, famously granting suffrage to women over the age of 30. In 1928 the fifth great reform act was passed, another revolutionary act which made female suffrage equal to male suffrage at the age of 21.

Forty-one years later the sixth great reform act extended the franchise to 18 after a high court appeal by the NUS. Today, there is an opportunity to make history; there is a strong case for an additional reform act, which would extend suffrage to the age of 16. This article puts the case for the extension of the franchise.